Two phone screens is bet to lure the Russian public

If the Russian Yota phone manufacturer Devices could choose, the revolution of mobile devices would be televised-on two screens simultaneously.
The company yesterday released a new smartphone from two screens in an event in Gorky Park in Moscow, with the hope that can change the way people see the mobile technology, while allowing the transfer of data, or streaming, occur without the usual constraints of battery life.
Called YotaPhone, the unit account, on one side, with a traditional color LCD screen, touch panel, and, on the other, with a screen of black and white electronic paper, allowing the user to view real-time data continuously, without having to worry about battery consumption.
"You don't need to hold the phone in your hand and you don't have to activate it every five minutes," says the CEO of the company, Vladislav Martynov, 44 years of age. "Who needs a personal assistant [digital] will stay being fired?"
The interaction with the apparatus is done via the LCD screen, but the electronic paper monitor allows a image is displayed constantly-like maps, boarding cards, family photos, blog posts on Twitter and email-but only consumes battery power when the image changes. Electronic paper screen works very similar to the Amazon.com Kindle digital reader.
In YotaPhone, the image in electronic paper will continue to be displayed even if the battery runs out. The company informed that the system allows it to last up to 68 hours if only electronic paper screen is used.
Martynov said it was necessary to attack various technological obstacles to develop the phone, controlling the temperature and the imaging software, since the electronic paper screen is highly sensitive to heat and processors of cell phones tend to generate excessive heat.
Using the Android operating system designed by Google, the phone will be available initially only in Russia, Germany, France, Austria and Spain, but at the beginning of next year will come to the United Kingdom, the other countries of Europe and the Middle East.
The appliance will be sold for $ 19,990 rubles in Russia (the equivalent of $ 600) and € 499 ($ 675) in Europe.
If successful on the world stage, the phone will represent a major breakthrough for Russia, which has never excelled on consumer technology-the images of the giant Soviet-era electronics and criticized Lada cars come to mind.
Despite this, Russia's focus on teaching mathematics and science gave the country the reputation of forming programmers and developers of highly qualified programs.
But the company-which is virtually unknown globally-faces the great challenge of joining a competitive market, led by giants like Apple and Samsung Electronics.
For starters, the Yota Devices-that it was split off from a company linked to Russian State Defense industry in 2011-never developed a phone before, although it has obtained success in Russia with wireless routers, modems and 4 g networks.
"I think they have to be very selective about where they're going to cast it and when," says Ramon Llamas, senior analyst of global markets mobile telephony market research firm IDC. "This is a good and solid, but the market is moving toward larger displays and if they begin to launch it in markets where the trend changed, may have trouble maintaining."
Martynov, a veteran in the sectors of software and information technology (it) for 20 years works in these areas, companies including Microsoft, says he is well aware of the challenges that the phone faces, which is why the company wants to start small, with limited production and marketing.
The company is also avoiding the usual relationship with carriers, counting only with the direct sale of the device through its own site and through electronics stores in other countries.
"This is a relationship with the consumer," he says. "If you really love him and is excited about it, you'll find a way to buy it."
For the first generation, the company aims to sell about 500 thousand appliances-50% of them in the Russian market. Martynov says the Yota has received a high volume of orders, therefore, is optimistic.